01 May 26 | The Way, the Truth, and the Life
Thomas asked how they could know the way and the answer was standing in front of him the whole time.
The Gospel: John 14:1-6
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled.
You have faith in God; have faith also in me.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.
If there were not,
would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back again and take you to myself,
so that where I am you also may be.
Where I am going you know the way.”
Thomas said to him,
“Master, we do not know where you are going;
how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Today’s Focus
The disciples are troubled and Jesus does not dismiss it. He addresses it with a destination. He is going to prepare a place and the going is itself the preparation. The cross, the resurrection, the ascension are not detours. They are how the dwelling is made ready. Thomas asks how they can know the way and the answer is the fifth I AM declaration in the Gospel. Not a road. Not a set of instructions. A person. The way is Jesus, the truth is Jesus, the life is Jesus. He is not pointing to a path. He is the path. No one comes to the Father except through him, and that exclusivity follows necessarily from who he is. The answer Thomas was looking for was standing in front of him the whole time and it has not moved since.
In the Margins
The disciples are troubled and Jesus knows it. He has just told them that one of them will betray Him and that He is going somewhere they cannot follow. The farewell discourse begins with a command that is also a promise. Do not let your hearts be troubled. The verb tarassō, to disturb or agitate, is the same word used for Jesus being troubled in spirit at the tomb of Lazarus and again when He spoke of His coming death. The disciples are experiencing what Jesus Himself has experienced in the face of what is coming. He does not dismiss the trouble. He addresses it with the reason it need not overwhelm them.
The reason is the Father’s house. Jesus is going to prepare a place, and the going is itself the preparation. The cross, the resurrection, the ascension are not interruptions to the plan. They are how the dwelling place is made ready. Hebrews 6 describes Jesus entering the inner sanctuary as a forerunner, on behalf of those who will follow. He goes ahead so that where He is, they may also be. Psalm 23 closes with the declaration that the redeemed will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 27 names this as the one desire above all others. What those psalms were reaching toward, Jesus is now describing as the destination He is going to prepare.
Thomas voices what all of them are thinking. We do not know where you are going. How can we know the way? It is an honest question and it is the occasion for one of the most significant declarations in the Gospel. Jesus tells them to go to the same place He is going.
I am the way and the truth and the life. This is the fifth of the seven I AM declarations in John where Jesus completes the divine name with a specific predicate, and the three predicates belong together rather than standing separately. Isaiah 35 promised a highway of holiness on which the redeemed would walk. Isaiah 40 called for the preparation of the way of the Lord. Jesus is not pointing to a path. He is declaring Himself to be the path. The truth He claims is not a collection of accurate propositions. Throughout John’s Gospel, aletheia describes what is genuine and real as opposed to counterfeit or shadow. Jesus is the true bread, the true vine, the true light, the original of which everything else is a copy. The life He is in Himself is what John 1:4 described at the very beginning. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. He is not the teacher of truths about life. He is life itself.
No one comes to the Father except through Him. This is the most direct exclusivity claim in the Gospel and it follows necessarily from who Jesus is. If He is the visible image of the invisible Father, the only one who has descended from the Father and can lead back to the Father, then the exclusivity of the access follows from the uniqueness of the person. The way is Jesus, whether or not the one walking it has yet been told His name.
The disciples wanted directions. Jesus gave them something better. He did not point to a road and say follow it. He pointed to himself and said I am it. The way to the Father is not a set of instructions to be followed carefully enough. It is a person to be received, trusted, and followed. Thomas asked how they could know the way and the answer was standing in front of him the whole time. That answer has not changed. The way is still a person, still speaking, still the only route that leads where we are trying to go.
Reflection Question
Are you looking for a road to follow or are you following the person who said He is the road?
A Small Invitation
If this reflection helped you, consider sharing it with someone who may benefit from hearing this message.